Brymo: A Celebration of a Paragon and an Intellectual Ribald

Olawale Ashimi Oloforo, better known as Brymo, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, composer, and author.

Brymo — the wizard as he chooses to call himself has now become the prophet many people seek for advice because his melody and lyrics bring peace to troubled souls.

Olawale Ashimi, more popularly known as Brymo, is one man who has grown from that commercial artist trying to score a hit so the heavy money-pumping brands won’t run to another artist, to that artist whose voice, melody, and rhyme finds their way to the loneliest and deepest part of emotions. He is one of the very few whose music would make many listeners take a pen and jotter to write down the words of wisdom coming from his songs. He did not just jump out of the blues into the music space; he had to journey through some burning flames to become who he is today.

With what happened to Brymo at Chocolate City, one’s best prediction would have been that the end of the son of the carpenter’s musical career was probably insight. However, he has not disappointed the world by going into oblivion as per expectations. He remained strong honing his craft and went on to subsequently drop an album.

It’s effective to think of Brymo’s music in each of these ways: as affirmations of deep-rooted personal ideology, enigmatic and beautiful lyrical poetry, equations of balanced ribaldry, and cheekiness.

Brymo understands profanity. To him, it’s an aesthetic, a medium to lull listeners into the rich fabric of his lyrics, a device to broach discussions about him and his music. When it comes to cheekiness, Brymo has been there, done that, bought the nakedness. Brymo is as prudent as he is saucy. With his strangely elaborated diction, semi-whispered vocal tone, and choked accent, his odd way of combining profanity with philosophy, Brymo’s music always stands out, even when he is saying something vapid or somnific.

Brymo’s music is a mood; it always attempts to drag itself through melancholy to seek a brighter outlook. Brymo’s music is high art, a mystic seeking meaning to life. Combining dark arts with gaslighting,

Brymo taps into our collective consciousness rummage through our hearts and hooks us. Brymo understands the aura of his mystique. And he is using it to his advantage, hence his profanity couched in intellectualism. Besides Fela, who cleverly melds ribaldry with activism, Brymo is the only modern act who blends ribaldry with intellectualism.

This month, Brymo is set to thrill his fans once again, following weeks of high levels of anticipation from a cult-like fanbase, he returns with ‘Yellow‘, his seventh studio album.

Comprised of fifteen tracks drawn from his core and shared with only one industry likemind, Lindsey Abudei, the album which is preceded by singles like Esprit De Corps and Ozymandias is akin to a maze with one path, different destinations, and implications. As with everything he does, the album is split into three sides, all of which pander to different narratives stretched between Brymo’s conscious and subconscious. This much is obvious in the way he navigates gloom on Strippers + White Lines, a track on the first side, and passion on Black Man, Black Woman, another on the second side.

This feature was made possible by Michael Kolawole.